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Dr. Qian Wang and Dr. Hsiang-ning Sunnie Wang Receive Dean’s Award for Educational Leadership!
Congratulations to Asian Studies professors, Dr. Qian Wang and Dr. Hsiang-ning Sunnie Wang, who have been awarded the Dean’s Award for Educational Leadership projects! The award is designed to support faculty members’ leadership development and to advance the Faculty of Arts’ Strategic Plan.
Dr. Qian Wang’s project focuses on indigenizing language curriculum in the Chinese and Japanese Language Programs, and Dr. Hsiang-ning Sunnie Wang’s project is entitled “Inclusive and Empowering ‘Teamship’ Education and Practice”.
Read the full list of award recipients
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KORN 302 student wins Grand Prize at the 15th annual Toronto Korean Speech Contest
Congratulations to Eric Venis, a KORN 302 student who recently won the Grand Prize for the 2021 Toronto Korean Speech Contest!
Eric's speech centered around the question "뭘 먹을까요? What shall I eat?" and aimed to use the wide range of grammar he has learned over the past 3 years studying Korean.
The contest was held virtually this year and 59 contestants, including high school students and university students across Canada, competed at the final rounds.
Listen to Eric's full speech (with Korean and English subtitles) here!
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Applications Open for 2021 Western Canada Online Korean Speech Contest
The 2021 Korean Speech Contest in Western Canada, which is hosted by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver, will be held virtually this year.
Any Korean learners over 18 years of age in Western Canada (BC, AB, SK, YK, NWT) whose native language is not Korean can apply. Submissions will be accepted from April 1 until April 30, and the winners will be announced on May 17.
For more details, visit the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea website!
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Virtual Spring 2021 Graduation Ceremony
The Department of Asian Studies heartily congratulates all of our undergraduate and graduate students on the completion of their studies! We will be thinking of you all very fondly on your graduation day.
The Class of 2021 Spring Graduation will be held on June 2 with a virtual ceremony for all graduates of the UBC Vancouver campus and the UBC Okanagan campus.
For more information, visit the UBC Graduation website!
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Graduation Composite Deadline Extended!
Good news for those of you who haven't managed to book a graduation portrait session yet!
Portrait sessions for the composite have been extended to May 15 at Artona's Vancouver studio.
In order to be included in the class composite, please make sure to book your session and take your photos by the new deadline.
Book your photo session here!
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Public Release of New Chinese History Database
The Modern China Biographical Database (MCBD) by the ENP-China project (ERC) is a freely accessible relational database that aims at recording all the historical actors active in China in the Late Qing and Republican periods (1830–1949), regardless of their origin, nationality and the duration of their presence in China.
While the temporal coverage is linked to the timeline of the ENP-China Project, the data is being enriched and updated regularly to include newly collected and curated sources. It is open to external contributions by accredited users.
Check it out here
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Congratulations to Dr. Ross King on the Publication of Literary Sinitic and East Asia
Congratulations to Asian Studies professor Ross King on the publication of Kin Bunkyo's Literary Sinitic and East Asia: A Cultural Sphere of Vernacular Reading, edited by Ross King and translated by Ross King, Marjorie Burge, Mina Hattori, Alexey Lushchenko, and Si Nae Park.
The book surveys the history of reading technologies referred to as kundoku 訓讀 in Japanese, hundok in Korean and xundu in Mandarin. As the book’s editor, Dr. King prefaces the translation with an essay comparing East Asian traditions of ‘vernacular reading’ with typologically similar reading technologies in the Ancient Near East and calls for a shift in research focus from writing to reading, and from ‘heterography’ to ‘heterolexia’.
Find out more details here
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| UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS |
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Traditions of Yoga 2021 - Vancouver Yoga Roundtable
Wednesday, April 14th, 2pm PT / 5pm ET
This talk is the last of the "Traditions of Yoga 2021: A Webinar Series at UBC" series. The panel features Cheryl Joseph, Fiona Stang, Lucy St. John, Maitreyi Yogacharini, and Zander Winther.
This webinar series, held in conjunction with a new Asian Studies course ASIA 210: Traditions of Yoga, is open to the public and will welcome international scholars to explore the traditions of yoga through historical, cultural, and critical lenses.
Learn more and register here
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Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists
Wednesday, April 21st, 7pm PT / 10pm ET
Join UBC's Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhism and Contemporary Society in a book talk and interview with Chenxing Han on her book Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists.
Despite the fact that two thirds of U.S. Buddhists identify as Asian American, mainstream perceptions about what it means to be Buddhist in America often whitewash and invisibilize the diverse, inclusive, and intersectional communities that lie at the heart of American Buddhism.
Chenxing Han’s book, Be the Refuge (North Atlantic Books) is both critique and celebration, calling out the erasure of Asian American Buddhists while uplifting the complexity and nuance of their authentic stories and vital, thriving communities.
Learn more and register here
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UBC Tianzhu-Hurvitz Distinguished Lecture Series: Ethics of Ambiguity in Chan and Existentialism
Thursday, April 22nd, 9am PT / 12pm ET
Join the 2021 UBC Tianzhu-Hurvitz Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Dr. Wendi Adamek.
She explores resonance and disparities between “doubt” (yi 疑) as evoked in the dialectic of Chan “examining the topic” (kanhua 看話, Kor. kanhwa) practice, and the phenomenology of ambiguity that Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) explored in her early work The Ethics of Ambiguity.
Dr. Adamek compares the challenges de Beauvoir articulates with perspectives from Chan by engaging with postmodern questions on authentic grounding for ethical practice, and freedom from existential ambiguity and doubt.
Learn more and register here
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Exploring Asian Heritage in Vancouver
Thursday, May 6th, 5pm PT / 8pm ET
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, heritage means features belonging to the culture of a particular society, such as traditions, languages, or buildings, that were created in the past and still have historical importance.
Through a virtual panel conversation, we would like to explore the significance of Asian Heritage Month to Asian-Canadians today living in Vancouver.
This virtual event will feature a moderator and four panelists who will respond to various pre-recorded audio, video, and written submissions from UBC and Vancouver community members who have self-recorded responses to a series of questions.
Learn more and register here
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| EVENT RECAP |
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2021 UBC Lantern Festival Poetry Event
The 2021 UBC Lantern Festival Poetry Event, the fourth annual extracurricular event organized by the Chinese Language Program, is drawing to a successful conclusion on April 9, 2021. The Covid-19 challenges restricted the event to Canvas (online), but its talented organizers, contributors, and participants have in turn extended the event from Feb 26 to April 9 despite the pandemic, and have happily celebrated it with new forms and multilingual richness.
Read more
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| SPOTLIGHT: SAI DIWAN |
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Interested in what you can do with a degree in Asian Studies? In our Spotlight Interview Series, we ask our students, postdocs and alumni about their career paths, how they became interested in Asian Studies and for any advice they would give to current students.
Meet Sai Diwan, a current PhD candidate in the Department of Asian Studies. In this interview, Sai shares with us how her passion for reading stimulated her interests to study English Literature in her BA and MA, and later to pursue a PhD degree in Asian Studies at UBC. In her first foray into teaching this term (W2020 Term 2), she talks to us about her many “firsts” in teaching as a Sessional Lecturer and how she finds them valuable.
Read the full interview here
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| SUSTAINABILITY NEWS |
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Celebrate Earth Day!
On April 22 we will be celebrating the 71st annual Earth Day. If you are in Vancouver, participate in a virtual Run/Walk Challenge or attend the EARTH MATTERS exhibition! To learn more about the history of Earth Day and its mission, visit the official website – and find more Earth Day events all around the world.
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Spend More Time in Nature
It’s an ideal time to enjoy outdoor activities as we gain more sun and daylight in Vancouver. See the quick guide on forest bathing and volunteering on ways to spend time in nature and to give back!
Access the Guide here
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Stamina for Sustainability Applications Open!
Stamina for Sustainability (SfS) is an online co-curricular program that supports undergraduate and graduate UBC students of all disciplines to address today’s social and ecological challenges.
Applications to join the program are due April 23.
Find out more or apply here
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| OPPORTUNITIES |
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Call for Submissions: Chinese Folk Songs and Folk Tales for UBC Research Website
A team of researchers at the University of British Columbia is creating a website to help Chinese-Canadian children learn about their heritage and are seeking volunteers aged 18+ to contribute folksongs and folktales from across greater China, to be added to their website. This website helps young Chinese-Canadian children learn about and maintain an interest in their heritage language. The team is aiming to collect submissions from as many dialects as possible. You can view existing submissions on the website here. If you are interested in participating, please contact shannon.ward@ubc.ca.
Call for Abstracts: 2021 British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies Annual Conference
The British Postgraduate Network for Chinese Studies (BPCS) is an academic network for the growing number of postgraduates, young scholars and early-career researchers in Chinese Studies at British universities, affiliated to the British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS). The theme of the 2021 BPCS Annual Conference, scheduled to be held online from June 23-24, is ‘China and the World: Challenges and Opportunities’ and is open to abstract submissions from all disciplines. The deadline for abstract submission is April 30. Submit your abstract here or for inquiries, contact bpcsannualconference2021@gmail.com
Job Opportunity: Lecturer in Japanese Language and Culture
The Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, invites applications for a full-time Lecturer position in Japanese Language and Culture, for one year with a possible renewal/extension to three years, commencing September 1, 2021. The deadline to apply is May 9. For more information and how to apply, click here.
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